


Until I Return To Your Side

by Skye_Willows



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Android Rebirth, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Major Character Injury, Nines Is A Bit Of An Asshole (Just A Bit), Reincarnation and Rebirth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 07:26:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21240392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skye_Willows/pseuds/Skye_Willows
Summary: Nines has spent nearly a thousand years looking for his soulmate.Now that his search is over, he's not going to let something as insignificant as human frailty stop them from being together.





	Until I Return To Your Side

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Stujet9rainshine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stujet9rainshine/gifts).

> Hi! I'm back with another little piece of fluff and angst!
> 
> This is a gift for the amazing Stu, who happens to be one of my favourite people in the world, and I feel so lucky for being given the chance to write this fic for them! Please go and check out their works, their writing has some of the most unique headcanons I have come across and are well worth a read. Happy Halloween, hun!
> 
> I hope you all enjoy!

_ “No! We aren’t ending this way!” _

** _“Of course we aren’t: we have forever, my love. Even if we lose a few years in the search, we are Entwined. We will always find our way back to each other, until time itself ends. This is goodbye…only for now…”_ **

_ “It isn’t because you’re not dying! Now hold still!” _

** _“Even with all the power and armies you command in this lifetime, dear, you can’t stop death. Fear not, it is only for now. You’ll have me back in your arms in the next life.”_ **

How he wished that had been true. It had been more than one lifetime, it had been 35. Or more specifically, it had been 931 years and 44 days since he’d held his mate. The echoes of their voice as one or the other of them passed in each lifetime had been a taunting mockery, he wanted nothing more than to spend his time reconnecting with his beloved.

That left the hurdle of bypassing his current…issue. 

For the first time, he wasn’t born. He’d simply come into existence with the flick of a switch – or more specifically, the reconfiguration of several 1’s and 0’s. 

How curious, he’d seen the beginnings of android technology just before he became deceased last time…To be reborn was one was highly strange. No sensation of pain, temperature or breathing, and even the vision in front of him was rather distorted. What was- Oh, he was booting up. 

An Entwined reincarnated into an android? That would cause the philosophers of the world to have an absolute field day. Not that they knew of his kind’s existence in any great detail. They were a myth, a superstition – a child’s night time story. Tales had abounded for years about soul mates, about those destined for one another. Who lived, breathed and died together; could feel the other’s existence coursing through their veins.

Ridiculously romanticised and bastardised, but the core idea hadn’t been too far wrong. Even knowing so little of their own existences, the Solitary had actually worked out a few of the mechanics of their unions...but it wasn’t simply that the Entwined were mated and spent their every living minute trying to find the other. They co-existed, they were aware of the echo of their mate’s soul. Sometimes their thoughts and emotions, but that was only for the oldest mated pairs. That was a symbol of those who had been united for millennia.

And those who hadn’t had their mates cruelly separated from them for almost a thousand years. Whoever had cursed them to be apart for this long was going to suffer.

“I don’t understand it, Connor. There’s something about him that I can’t connect to.”

“You can’t simply awaken every android the same way, Markus. Who knows what defences CyberLife made when constructing him to resist deviancy?”

Voices. He could only assume that the irritating tingling in his body (it was a body, right? Or had they decided to change it so that androids were not humanoid shaped?) was the result of one of those speaking in front of him. To resolve any inane arguments which may arise, he opened his eyes. 

The pair before him recoiled and he noticed one of them had been connected with him via a white hand. Ah, that was an interesting quirk: he could scan the world around him. So much was available to look at and be inquisitive about. He’d been ‘interfaced’ with. 

Hmmmm, he had spent thousands of years as a human and had learned about their biochemistry. This could be an interesting change for this lifetime. 

“Hello?”

He cast a quick scan of himself and learned a few details – apparently he was now something called an RK900 #313 248 317 – 87 (a ridiculous mouthful, whoever decided that was a thing should be publicly declared a moron. Whatever was wrong with the classical names that the ancient Greeks had? He missed those, it might be worth choosing one of those as his name this time), and he was also built as a male. 

So that was sixteen lifetimes in a row now? He and his mate had always joked about how he was the more masculine one out of the two of them but this was taking it to the extreme. There was nothing wrong with either of the binary genders but a change might be nice. Android biocomponents were interchangeable? 

How curious. Gender hadn’t truly been a constant for some time now and had been accepted as a concept instead, but this was a decidedly new twist.

Still, exploring all about his new mechanical body could come much later. For now, he had to leave this place and find his mate.

A quick attempt to move had him achieving nothing more than shifting a few scant inches, his limbs contained and his neck impaled. Scowling at the two opposite, he spoke up. “Why have you kept me bound?” he demanded, intrigued to note that his vision was showing more details about the androids in front of him. An RK200 and an RK800, known as Markus and Connor respectively. 

He was an RK too, was that significant? And the RK800 – _ Connor _– was similar to his facial blueprint. The only difference was the one thing that all Entwined carried between their incarnations: his eyes. Connor’s were a soft brown while he would have retained his ice blue shade.

_ Interesting, so Connor was my ‘prototype’? How…odd. I’m not sure how I feel about this sharing of features which have been mine for millennia. _

The pair shared a look before Connor spoke to him. “We didn’t want to release you until we were sure of your mental state. How do you feel? Do you have a name or mission?” 

“I am frustrated at being kept as a captive,” he snipped. “As for a name, it seems I was not given one upon my construction; and my mission is none of your damn business. Now, will you please release me?”

Markus scowled. “I’m sorry but we can’t do that. Not until we know you are not a danger to those around you.”

Fury burned through his circuits – who did these two think they were to decide if he was to be kept a prisoner or not? “Who are you to dictate my freedoms? What gives you the right to decide upon that? I am no danger to you currently, but I promise that you will be should you continue to keep me restrained,” he threatened, beginning to test the stress points of the arms keeping him in place. A quick scan revealed that the connection in his neck was still active and vulnerable.

Connor and Markus both jolted as they saw the screens around them flicker from being hacked, realising what was happening. “Connor!” Markus shouted as he interfaced with a computer while Connor reached out to connect with RK900, but in less than a second it was over and Connor reeled back in shock.

“Markus, stop,” Connor whispered. “He’s not a threat.”

Scepticism was clear on Markus’ face. “How can you be sure of that, Connor? He’s trying to break free-”

“Because he’s looking for someone, that’s why,” the other android explained. “I know why you couldn’t connect with him like everyone else – he’s not like us.” Markus was still wary, but Connor connected with the maintenance arms and instructed them to release RK900.

As he was lowered to the floor and let loose, RK900 regarded Connor curiously. “What changed your mind so fast?” he asked.

After thinking for a few seconds, Connor answered. “I know plenty about human myths and legends, and I’m not stupid enough to mess with one when it turns out to be true. Even that brief moment I connected with you was all I needed to see what you are.”

“And what might that be…?”

“You’re an Entwined – you’re trying to find your mate.”

That did catch him off guard. Raising an eyebrow, he smiled a little. “Impressive, I wasn’t aware that humanity had worked out our existence.”

Connor smiled slightly back. “I suspected it when we saw the engraving on your synthskin, but I wasn’t certain until I interfaced with you and felt the surge of emotion and the briefest flash of your memories. There were far too many there for another explanation to be possible.”

“Entwined? They’re a myth, Connor,” Markus pointed out. “A human fallacy, much like fairies and dragons-”

“As a Solitary, you cannot comment on such matters,” RK900 snapped, LED blazing red. “You have no memories of your previous incarnations, should you have been fortunate enough to have been a part of this world before, thus you cannot prove or disprove either way. If you require proof, however, you may sample this.” 

He held out his hand in offering to Markus, but the other android still did not take it. Scoffing at the distrust, he lowered it again and strode past them. “Whether you believe me or not is irrelevant – I have a mate that I must find. I have spent too long without them.”

Brushing past them, RK900 didn’t stop as Connor called out to him. “Wait! We came here looking for your help!”

“If you wish for the help of others, perhaps you should learn to practice what you preach and accept that there are other forms of intelligent life. With such narrow-mindedness, you’ll doom this world just as humanity has,” he snapped, continuing to march on. 

All his focus was on finding his mate – with all these resources at his disposal, he had an advantage unlike never before. Surely it would not take long.

* * *

He wanted to curse that very thought months later. Despite all of his efforts, his links to databases containing billions of people on the world gifted him with nothing. Faces upon faces stored in the vastness of the information ether at his beck and call, and _ still_, he could find no sign of his mate.

Having now taken the temporary moniker of Nines (it would suffice until he found his love, then they could pick a new name for him together), he had come to the eventual conclusion that he needed some help. Nines was immensely grateful that Connor had kept the revelation of his true identity a secret - apparently Markus had dismissed the idea that Nines was an Entwined relatively quickly, adamant that the concept was a myth – and his series companion was one of the very few androids that Nines kept in steady contact with.

And within that, Nines had a potential solution to his crisis. If only he could get the other android to agree.

“Connor, please,” Nines pleaded, but the other android was unmoved. 

“No, Nines. I won’t take advantage of my security clearance to help you find your mate,” he replied sadly. “That would be an immense breach of privacy. Don’t you have some sort of way to sense them? Or was that another thing that humans invented as part of your legend?”

Nines had corrected much about human misconceptions of the Entwined for Connor over the course of the year that he’d been searching. One of which was that the Entwined could find each other via their connection. That was a stretch somewhat, but not too far from the truth. He could in fact sense his mate...but only in very close proximity. Namely within a hundred metres or so. Beyond that, he could sense only echoes of extreme emotions and that his mate was _ there_. 

It was infuriating having so many more options and avenues at his disposal, and yet Nines was still getting nowhere. 

“Connor,” he tried again, offering a hand for the other android to take. “I know you take the responsibility of your burden seriously, and I have been trying to learn my mate’s identity with the access I have. Even with the visual records of billions, I still cannot find them. Please, all I ask is if you can at least point me in a direction.”

The other android looked at Nines despondently and sighed. “Nines-”

“I can share with you some of my memories, it will help you get an idea of their image. We carry a physical resonance through every incarnation, regardless of gender. I’m not wanting you to look through everyone you have access to, just those that I can’t through various reasons. If you can at least eliminate them, it is one less avenue I have to look.”

He was still unconvinced, but Nines felt only minorly underhanded in trying for an emotional response next. “You know that humans are only fleeting in this world and I have no idea how long my mate has been alive without me, the mechanics have changed with me returning as an android. Mortality is now a concept for me, not a finality. Please, Connor.”

The point resonated a little close to home for Connor who sighed before taking Nines’ hand. “That was a cheap blow,” he replied a little bitterly, but Connor focused instead on Nines’ memory flashes to try and work out a facial template for his mate.

It was strange to be sharing these moments with another - of them together in the ancient civilisations of Egypt, Phoenicia and Greece. Living and sometimes dying together, of Nines holding his beloved as they perished in his arms. Having to give Connor samples of them as various versions of both male and female was an added complication but he was sure-

Connor’s hand snapped back after only a few seconds and Nines could see the shock on his face for what it was. “You know them,” he whispered in realisation. When the other android’s expression fell, Nines reached out and tried to connect with him again. “Connor, please tell me! I have to know about them, where I can find them?!”

“Nines…” The soft and sad tone ripped through Nines’ being in an echo of his deepest grief. 

No, that wasn’t possible – he could feel them. His mate was alive, he could still feel their soul echoing back through his own. “Connor!”

“His name is Gavin,” he muttered solemnly. “I…I worked with him at the DPD, he was also a detective. We had a somewhat acrimonious meeting during the revolution and things got better after it, but he was always stiff with me.” His eyes met Nines’ with a look of enlightenment. “He probably thought I was you to start with, but realised I just looked similar. Maybe that was why he always kept his distance.”

Nines’ circuits flashed at realising that Connor was talking about his mate, _ Gavin_, in a mixture of past and present tense. “Where is he now? You said ‘worked’, where did he go?”

“It’s…not that simple.”

Learning the answer was heart breaking. The minute Connor pulled up in front of a hospital, Nines feared the worst. The ache grew when he finally felt their connection snap completely back into place after almost a thousand years.

His mate was _ here_.

Connor needed to lead the way no longer, but it turned out that the other android was one of the few with access to Gavin’s room in the hospital. He’d been placed under protection (for what reason Nines couldn’t fathom) but his heart ached when his repeated attempts to send an echo of love through their connection kept bouncing. Gavin was there, but he wasn’t responding.

Entering the room, Nines froze at seeing the pale figure on the bed. Tubes and wires were linked up to him, much of his body was in cages or casts, and the soft beeping of the EKG readings at the side of the bed was the only thing breaking the silent monotony of the room. Using his own scanners, Nines could not help but scan Gavin’s body and he reeled at the list of injuries. 

Both legs were broken so severely that it was doubtful he would ever walk again, while his right collarbone and shoulder were shattered. Bandages were wound around the human’s head and his skin was almost ashen. 

Horrified at the state of his mate, Nines rounded on Connor accusingly. “What _ happened _to him?” There was unmistakable anger and fear in Nines’ voice.

The other android took his time in responding. “We were following on some intel about an android smuggling ring, but we must have been found out. Gavin’s team were the ones who were caught in an ambush and they’d almost fought their way out when a bomb exploded. Most of them were thrown from the building and fell the six stories to the ground below. Gavin was blasted far enough that he actually landed on the roof opposite, only one story down…but the force that he hit to roof with-”

Connor looked away. “Well, you can see what it’s done to him. That was six weeks ago.”

Nines’ LED went red as he reached out for Gavin’s hand and the lack of response put a few of the pieces together in his head. “He’s in a coma,” he surmised, sending waves of energy through the physical and spiritual connection. It was the only way Nines could know the true scope of the damage to his mate. Physical injuries could be healed, as could some mental ones, but if they went deeper…

_ I can’t be staring at him, _ ** _touching _ ** _ him, and be expected to wait however long to have him as mine again. _

“Yeah, but they-The doctors doubt Gavin will ever wake up, Nines. His body has suffered immense trauma and they don’t know about the mental-”

“Medical personnel can only surmise so much – no one knows my mate better than I do,” Nines interrupted, a smile spreading on his face as his probing was finally answered. It was a thin trickle of energy and emotion, but Nines could feel it echo through him. The long awaited twining of his mate’s soul with his, muted as it was, had been too many years in the making and he couldn't stop a laugh from bubbling out.

Gavin was in there, he was reaching for Nines. He just couldn’t do it physically with his broken and crippled body.

“Tell me everything, Connor, I need to know about all of his injuries.”

The news was far from good, and Nines’ own diagnostics came back with the startling truth that Connor had been trying to tell him earlier. Everything that Gavin’s body had suffered and the likely head trauma meant that he had only a 4.3% chance of ever waking.

_ No, I am not waiting for you again. I will find a way to awaken you again, I promise. _

* * *

A potential solution proved to be extremely difficult to Nines, but he did find one. It just required a lot of investigation and underhanded tactics.

Connor had done enough for him and as desperate as Nines was to be reunited with his mate, he knew that the other android had risked enough already. Until such time as he was left with no further choice, he wouldn’t draw him into more drama.

Despite Nines’ best efforts to keep his endeavours quiet, he’d drawn the attention of Markus once more. It seemed that the android leader had always held suspicions about Nines since the RK900’s activation, and once he found out what Nines was messing with, he’d attempted to step in. That had ended…badly. _ Very _badly.

Nines hadn’t been proud of his actions, but nothing was going to stop him from having his love at his side again. Even if that meant making himself an enemy of the new android people.

Evading them after his explosive encounter with Markus was an added headache that Nines did not need, and it was taking months for it to die down. What it had done, unintentionally, was give Nines the idea for their salvation. 

While contemplating transferring his consciousness and essence to another body to change his appearance to avoid danger, Nines had the sudden inspiration that he could maybe do it for Gavin. His mate’s body was trapping him inside, his soul was still very much intact and fighting to unite with Nines once more. They knew the other was right there, they just had this last hurdle to overcome.

Using everything he’d accumulated to try experimental therapy for Gavin, Nines instead turned his attention to contacting the one person who might be knowledgeable enough to give Nines what he needed. 

In his wildest dreams, however, he’d never expected to run into a long-time friend and fellow Entwined. 

Elijah Kamski was someone that Nines hadn’t seen in centuries, the last they’d crossed paths was during Tudor times in England. Seeing as he was as close to an Entwined had to a sibling to his mate, they were almost linked themselves. Entwined didn’t have family, but they did have those that came into existence at the same time as them. As such, they shared some physical characteristics. Nines had been so caught up in how he was going to restore his mate that he’d been somewhat blind to the world around him.

Meeting the man ended up answering many questions – and not just on how Nines could solve his predicament.

“Well, well…I knew it was a possibility that you would return as an RK model, but I wasn’t convinced,” Kamski smirked, holding out a hand to Nines as the android arrived at his mansion. 

“Oh?” he asked while taking the offered appendage in a friendly greeting.

“Surely you’ve crossed paths with Connor, your predecessor. You must see how similar he looks to yourself,” Kamski went on as he led Nines inside, heading towards the heart of the manor. “After he manifested but you were not a part of this world again, I wondered if the creation of androids had unintentionally interfered with your reincarnation.”

“I do find that statement somewhat ironic given that I now know an Entwined to be responsible for the destruction of our natural cycle. Was this a plan that you had concocted for long?” Nines wondered, a suspicion having built in his mind.

Kamski scoffed. “Of course it was, I’d been plotting this for the previous lifetime before my new incarnation, ever since artificial intelligence became a concept. How could I not: think about it, we can now stack the deck in our favour. If you can build a body for your mate, there is no more of the endless searches that can take hundreds of years.” 

As they reached a living room at the far corner of the house, Kamski’s eyes softened a little. “Surely you must understand that pain – last I saw your mate, 98 years ago, you two had still not reconnected. That must be close to a thousand years now?”

Nines held his posture firm as he stepped inside, despite the pain ringing through him. “We are still 67 years shy of a millennia, we have not reached that milestone yet. It has been…challenging, however.” He then looked at Kamski sadly. “You met them?”

“Indeed – we met on the front lines of World War II. She had enlisted as a spy, who was captured by my country. I attempted to help her escape, but I know not how successful she was. As you can imagine, treason of that level earns you a quick execution,” Kamski chuckled while pouring himself a drink. “My heart was already broken: my love had been killed in the war two months before I met your mate, I was on my way to death already. I had only been staying alive so that I could try and learn what had happened to them.”

Understanding that pain, Nines stood by the window and watching the storm raging outside. It was a torrent of wind, rain and lightning which made the world seem like it was trying to purge whatever was caught in its wake. “Did you succeed?” he asked solemnly while wondering about who his own mate had once been. Nines too had been killed in that war – maybe one of them survived it?

“No, I never found out anything about them, I had no way of knowing where to start looking.” As if realising what Nines was thinking, Kamski typed a name out on the touchpad and slid it towards the android. “Here, this was her name and nationality. I’ve never looked, but if you want to know…”

Unable to help himself, Nines searched the name and matched it with military records of the relevant country. He smiled at seeing the results. “She made it home and was honoured with a medal,” he explained. “At least someone survived to see the other side.”

Kamski nodded in acknowledgement before leaning against the window Nines was staring out of. “So, what can I do you for, old friend? What name have you chosen in this life?”

“I haven’t yet, the closest I have come to it is adopting ‘Nines’ as a moniker,” the android explained. “Since I had the option, I decided to wait for my mate’s input before choosing something final. Which is why I am here.”

He turned and looked at Kamski in all but a beg. “You alluded to this earlier, but I am now convinced of it. You created androids so that you could be reunited with your mate, and I have no doubts that you have succeeded. While all of your ‘Chloe’ androids look the same, none of them are quite identical. All have marginal differences, enough to make them distinctive enough to be viable as multiple incarnations. You were looking for the right combination to bring her into our world again.”

An impressed smile bloomed across Kamski’s face. “Indeed I was, and I succeeded. It may have taken many years, but I finally have my love back at my side. As an android, she will not succumb to illness or old age – she can stay forever young and able.”

“But that cannot be where you stop; it applies only to her, not to you as well. Chloe may be all but immortal, but you aren’t,” Nines pointed out. “You wouldn’t bring her back and give her immortality if you can’t spend eternity by her side.”

The expression faded and Kamski walked away with a sigh. “Creating an android as a blank slate to be filled with a soul is surprisingly easier than trying to transfer one across from an established vessel. I did not expect anything like the hurdles I have been trying to surpass.” He picked up a tablet and passed it to Nines. “While the human brain is essentially an organic computer system comprised of complex electrical signals, I know not what would happen should I attempt to shift it over as anything other than a perfect copy. And since I only have myself to test on and analyse…

“Well, you can imagine how well that has all gone. I left CyberLife over a decade ago to dedicate myself to finding the solution, but even that has not proven to be enough. While I think I am close, I cannot be sure of the viability of the process. Should I be incorrect, what effects could I have on out rebirth cycle? Could I damage it and our bond in trying to meddle with this? Being premature and risking our union is not something I am prepared to do,” Kamski explained. “Chloe is patient, and so am I-”

“But I am not!” Nines declared. “You have your mate with you again, even if you are separated by species. My mate is lying comatose in a hospital, bound inside a body that may never heal! I can reach out for their soul and feel their echo, but I am living with the fear that they may simply pass away from the injuries they have sustained already!”

Crumpling, Nines clenched his fists and looked at Kamski imploringly. “I am here because this was the only option beyond watching him potentially die right in front of my eyes. We are _ so close _, and I-” His voice broke a little and he swallowed back on some emotion. “Please, let me help you perfect this technology: for all of our futures. As you said, we can change the cycle in our favour. If this means that I never have to search for them again and have them at my side forever…I’ll work day and night to see it achieved.”

Kamski smiled at Nines in understanding. “Then we’d better get to work. Neither your mate nor I has forever to wait.”

* * *

Day and night it was, for a grand total of three years. With Gavin having no surviving family and the DPD responsible for all of his medical treatment, Connor managed to find all of the details required to sign final authority for all of Gavin’s needs to Nines. It required some subtle and detailed hacking to ‘reveal’ a previously unknown link that Gavin and Kamski were related (which wasn’t too far from the truth), but that new blood link opened avenues which helped them immensely.

With Gavin now being treated at Kamski’s estate, it meant they had access to all the data they could need to bring their plan to life. They could study Gavin in his comatose state and Kamski in his active one to correlate everything they needed.

Still, Kamski’s words of warning never left Nines’ mind. If they got this wrong, who knew what might happen to their bond and futures. Nines could take the isolation of being holed up in Kamski’s manor (which had the advantage of him falling off the other androids’ radar) if it meant being reunited with his mate. What were a few short years of waiting if it meant them being together in these forms for conceivably forever?

As Nines had feared, however, Gavin did not have time on his side. Though he may have healed from the broken bones and the physical injuries caused by the incident, they noticed something strange on the readings for his mental activity. It took a couple of months before Kamski worked it out as Gavin fighting his own physical limitations and trying to will his body back into use. Unfortunately human anatomy didn’t work that way.

Even Nines’ reassurance and echoes of emotion through their bond was not enough – the strain on Gavin’s body continued to climb until he was in danger of organ failure. 

“Nines, it’s decision time,” Kamski told him one morning. “Either you let him pass in this lifetime and go the older fashioned way to find them again, or you gamble everything on transferring him across. If it doesn’t work though…”

He’d spent little time thinking of what he would do when the moment arrived, but even as it came Nines was deeply torn. There was one thing that he’d worked out from Gavin’s actions – Gavin was even more desperate than Nines was to be reunited, to the point that he was breaking down his human body. Would it be fair to make him wait who knew how many more years when they had an opportunity?

“We do the transfer.”

They had everything prepped the next day, Nines sat in between Gavin’s human body and the android version that they had constructed for him. Identical in every physical detail and as close to Gavin’s human physiology as they could manage, they knew this was as good a shot as they were ever going to have. 

That didn’t make Nines any less terrified as he held Gavin’s hand tightly, sending reassurance and love through their connection to his frantic and caged mate. Gavin was fiercely restless and almost beyond comprehension of Nines now. Knowing that there was nothing more to be done, Nines nodded at Kamski to start the transfer.

Hearing the whirr of the machinery and feeling the small electronic current which was coursing through Gavin’s body was chilling to Nines, and it was only with Kamski’s barked reminder that Nines let go. He couldn’t interfere with this. The charge passed between both versions of Gavin’s body and it was almost a full minute before Kamski started the full download procedure.

Nines’ own soul wrenched in pain when it happened and he looked at Kamski is terror. “Something’s wrong! His pain is echoing through to me!” Before Kamski could decide on a course of intervention, however, the electrical flow came to an abrupt halt and everything went deathly silent.

After taking a couple of seconds to realise that it was all over, Nines rushed to Gavin’s human body as Kamski hurried to his android one. While Kamski started up all the procedures to boot the GV model up, Nines’ scanners were roving over Gavin’s body to confirm what he’d already known to be true. Everything had stopped, his mate’s human form was now deceased.

He stared over at Elijah fearfully, praying that whatever they had done hadn’t cost him his mate’s soul. Their bond hadn’t changed so that had to be a good sign…Right? 

“Elijah?”

It took a few seconds before Kamski looked up with a tense expression. “Everything that I can test and do has come back as it should. Only you can tell if he’s in there or not.” Knowing that they would need time, Kamski backed away and left the room, giving Nines complete privacy.

Once Kamski was gone, Nines bowed over his mate’s new body and took the limp hand: willing there to be something as he fed energy through in the hope of an answer. “Please, my love, please answer me,” he begged. “Don’t let me have endangered you. _ Please _.”

Seconds seemed to take hours as Nines waited for anything in reply, and the first instance of it was for the hand in Nines’ own to twitch. Nines watched raptly as it finally closed against his own and felt his systems flashing with stress alerts as he waited for the android to open its eyes. “Darling?”

When it finally happened, Nines’ systems blanked out for a moment with the shock. They had purposefully not assigned the GV android with a pre-set eye colour, they had left that open as that was the one characteristic every Entwined carried through their lifetime. Spying those grey eyes that Nines knew so well, he felt tears slide down his cheeks. “Gavin…”

Said man blinked and turned to look at Nines, letting out a disbelieving and choked laugh as he gripped Nines’ hand tightly. “You crazy fucking bastard, I can’t believe you got this working,” he said breathily.

Nines snorted in laughter before pulling Gavin up to kiss him deeply. Their connection sang at the physical and emotional outpouring, but that was to be expected after almost a thousand years apart. “Did you know, all this time?” Nines asked as they pulled apart.

“Of course I fucking knew, I could hear you the whole goddamn time!” Gavin told him with a scowl. “But, fuck, I was so scared that it could go wrong. What if we lost each other because of it? There was so much you were messing with-”

Gavin was silenced by another kiss. “You always were a worrier, darling,” Nines chuckled. “It’s nice to see that hasn’t changed in so many years.”

“Don’t you ‘darling’ me, I-” Gavin scowled at his mate. “Wait, you gave me the hardware for an RK900? I’ve got the same scanners as you?”

“Indeed you have,” Nines confirmed. “You will probably find it very confusing-”

“Oh hell no, that’s not the bit that’s got me. Why the hell are you showing up as ‘Nines’ in my HUD?”

That had Nines blushing through a chuckle. “…Would you be surprised to hear that I decided I wanted to wait for you to help me pick a name, since we had the option?”

Gavin blinked before laughing softly and kissing Nines tenderly. “You adorable sap…this is one of the many reasons why I love you.” He thought for a second before grinning. “How about Ennéa?”

Nines smiled softly at his mate before pressing their foreheads together. “You know me so well, love. That sounds perfect. This is so strange...you’ve been alive for the best part of 40 years this time before I was even a part of the world. I’m sure we have a lot to discuss.”

That pulled a laugh from Gavin. “Babe, we’ve got almost a _ thousand _years to catch up on, not just this lifetime. You wouldn’t believe half the stories I could tell you.”

“The same goes in reverse, I have many to share with you too. Not all of them are pleasant.”

“I guessed that, our average lifespan since we last met can’t be more than 30 years. Sounds like we’re both had a few traumatic lifetimes,” Gavin grimaced.

“Perhaps,” Nines mused with a soft smile, “but now we have all of eternity for the right reasons. This is the start of our forever.” Gavin matched his expression as they kissed gently. 

It didn’t take Nines long to smirk, however. “Did you realise that as androids, we actually have interchangeable parts? We can change _ anything_,” he hinted with a wink, which had Gavin chortling

“A thousand years and that’s where your mind goes, really?” Gavin said while shaking his head fondly, to which Nines just smiled.

The RK900 peeled his skin away from his hand to interface with Gavin, who took a couple of seconds to work it out before answering the connection in kind. The pair of them continued to sit there with broad smiles on their faces, love coursing through their physical and spiritual connection. At last, they had found each other again, and it was only the beginning of their new lives together.

“No more searching for you again, I am with you until the end of time.”

**Author's Note:**

> Because I know you are all curious - Ennéa is Greek for Nine.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this little fic; you can find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/SkyeWillows) and [Tumblr](https://skyewillows.tumblr.com), or ask for my Discord to scream at me on there! All screams welcome!
> 
> I am a slave to all forms of feedback (kudos, subs, bookmarks and especially comments), so please feel free to indulge me.
> 
> Until next time, people!


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